A new trailer was released last week for action-packed thriller Above Suspicion, starring Emilia Clarke and Jack Huston.
The film was announced in 2016 during the Cannes Film Festival. Above Suspicion is based on the true story of Susan Smith (Clarke), who in 1989 became the first known person to be murdered by an FBI agent after being strangled by Mark Putnam (Huston). Its principle source is Joe Sharkey’s true-crime book Above Suspicion: An Undercover FBI Agent, an Illicit Affair, and a Murder of Passion.
Above Suspicion is directed by Australian filmmaker Phillip Noyce, who is best known for action thrillers Salt (2010) and Patriot Games (1992). The film was originally scheduled for release in May 2020, but this was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Clarke, best known for playing Daenerys Targaryen in HBO’s Game of Thrones, is no stranger to action. Notable examples of this include the numerous battles in the aforementioned television show, and her role as deuteragonist Qi’ra in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
However, in contrast to the independent “strong women” Clarke is known for playing, in Above Suspicion she appears as a far more tragic and subservient figure. Smith, according to the film’s narrative, is fed up with her life in a dead-end mining town in Kentucky. Consequently, when Putnam arrives and begins to use her as an informant, she latches onto him in her pursuit of freedom. At first, their working relationship and subsequent affair appear to be a win-win situation. For both characters, however, the arrangement soon becomes a recipe for disaster.
Huston is best known for his role as the titular protagonist in Timur Bekmambetov’s 2016 historical drama film Ben-Hur. The American actor also appeared in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, playing World War I veteran-turned-gangster Richard Harrow. Other actors appearing in the film include Thora Birch, who earned a BAFTA nomination for her supporting role in 1999’s American Beauty, and Jackass star Johnny Knoxville.
Above Suspicion will be available in select cinemas and on demand from 14 May 2021.
Words by Jen Charlton
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